Hi everyone I am in South Africa and very new to this site. I have a 9 week old female black Lab called Pepper. Pepper is on the small side, due I would think to not having the biggest parents. Pepper was not bought from a breeder but from a friend who had two thoroughbred parents that were not related. Pepper weighs about 10 lbs at 9 weeks. I have bought Earthborn's Primitive Natural due to the great reviews I have read. My question though, is the feeding guide on there correct? They say that up to 11 pounds of puppy requires only about 70 grams (2,5 oz) of Primitive Natural a day. That seems very little, although it is a premium food. My puppy always seems very excited come food time and finishes the food on no time, although I am sure that is not a good indicator. I am a new Lab owner and would appreciate some knowledgable advice, especially if you are familiar with this brand of food. Thank you everyone!
Is it a puppy food? It's important that puppies should be on a puppy food and not an adult one, as they need different levels of nutrients to grow at a suitable rate. The amounts you've provided look more like guidelines for an adult dog of that weight.
I would be very wary of that. Puppies should be on a specific puppy food. The fact that their feeding guidelines only have one range of amounts suggests to me that it's maybe for all stages after puppyhood. I see that the makers do offer a puppy food (http://www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com/intl/dog-food-formulas/holistic/puppy-vantage), and if you look at that, you'll see that they have different feeding guidelines based on not only weight, but age, too. That's very important, because the puppy's requirements change very quickly as they grow. I would personally switch to a puppy food until Pepper has finished growing.
With labradors I would suggest looking for a puppy or size specific dog food. This is because "all stage" dog food, and some premium brands are very good, however, they don't cater for the growing needs of larger breeds such as labradors. Labradors continue growing in height until around 9 months on average. At this times the growth plates start to close. They then start to "fill out" and gain muscle and bone density. The mineral content in large breed/puppy food supports this development, whilst all stage food tend not too.
Thanks everyone. I decided to go and get some Pro Pac Ultimate Large Breed Puppy kibble. Anyone familiar with this product? Seems decent enough. Once Pepper has passed the growing stage I can then go back to the Natural Primitive. Thanks for your concerns and posts!
